


Stupid Fucking Broken Heater

by itishawkeye



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series, Sick!Ian, Sickfic, brothely love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 05:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3163370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itishawkeye/pseuds/itishawkeye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The heater is broken. Shit starts going downhill from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stupid Fucking Broken Heater

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by my own broken heater (which wasn't fixed for three weeks). During which the weather reached a wonderful -10 degrees. Thankfully, due to a combination of blankets and tiny electric heaters I was fine. But will Ian be so lucky?

Lip's feet slide on an icy patch of sidewalk outside the school and he grabs on to Ian for support. Ian giggles at him so Lip pushes him lightly in retaliation.

"Fuck off," Lip says, but he's smiling.

Ian grins at him. His cheeks are already pink from the cold. Ian's heading to pick up Carl and Debbie and Lip is heading to his after school job. They're heading in the same direction today.

"Who are you tutoring today?" Ian asks.

"Roger Spikey," Lip answers. "Kid's dumb as a fucking post. I'm not sure even I can get him to graduate."

Ian laughs and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, sticks one between his teeth, and offers the pack towards Lip. He grabs one and lights up.

"So, how's the job hunt going?" Lip questions.

Ian's been looking for a job for a month and half. With the addition of Liam to their family, they are gonna need a little more money than Lip and Ian can scrounge up scamming people.

"I think I got a chance at the Kash and Grab. Linda told me to come back next week," Ian explains proudly. "

I dunno dude, that Kash guy freaks me out."

Ian rolls his eyes because they both know that at this point Ian would take what he could get.

"We gotta get the heater fixed," Ian reminds him.

Like he could forget. They had been bundled in blankets and jackets for a week now. It was thirty four degrees outside and it wasn't much warmer in the Gallagher home. Everyone's been trying to scrape together the money to get the stupid thing fixed, but they still need to keep food on the table, and that's hard enough as it is. Lip sighs at that the thought of all the tutoring that awaits him. Roger's house is up the next road on the left. This is where they part ways.

"Thanks for the smoke," He says to Ian as they part.

"Anything for family!" Ian calls back as Lip retreats.

 

Four frustrating hours of explaining simple math over and over again to Roger Spikey later, Lip returns home. Fiona is at the stove, wearing her coat and hat, stirring mac and cheese for dinner.

"Hey!" She exclaims as he closes the door behind him. "How was your day?"

"Horrible," he says "but so is every day."

Fiona rolls her eyes and points her cheese crusted spoon at him.

"Stop being such a drama queen and get the kids. Dinner's ready."

Lip heads up the stairs. The upper half of the house is marginally warmer and he guesses that's why everyone's up here. Usually by now the house is chaos. Debbie is sitting in the middle of her bed, wrapped in a blanket with math worksheets spread out in front of her.

"Dinner," he tells her, and she's running down the stairs before the word can even finish coming out of his mouth. Carl comes out of the bathroom and immediately follows Debbie down into the kitchen. Lip heads towards the room he shares with Carl and Ian next.

"Hey, Ian." He says as he opens the door. "Dinner's ready."

Ian doesn't answer and Lip takes a step further into the room. Ian's on his bed, face pushed into his pillow and sheets a tangled mess.

"Hey, man, wake up," Lip says as he shakes Ian.

Ian startles and looks up at Lip in confusion.

"Dinner," Lip says by way of explanation.

"Oh, right," Ian replies, but his voice sounds raspy and painful.

"You getting sick or something man?" Lip questions, voice filled with disguised concern.

"Maybe," Ian brushes it off. "I don't think it's that bad. Just a cold."

Ian gets sick a lot. Once at the clinic someone had something about a weakened immune system from being so sick as a child (The people at the hospital said that if Fiona had been a little later Ian might have died. That moment is burned within Lip's fuzzy memories of childhood forever). But if Ian thinks it isn't that bad then maybe it isn't.

Ian pushes himself out of the bed and they head downstairs to eat crappy mac and cheese for the fifth night in a row. Ian doesn't each much at dinner, but he smiles at Carl and Debbie's jokes and answers all of Fiona's worried questions when she hears his voice, so Lip isn't too worried.

"You'll tell me if you feel any worse, right Ian?" Fiona demands before they head upstairs.

"Of course, Fi," Ian replies easily.

They both collapse on their beds as soon as they enter their room. It's only eight o'clock but everyone is so cold and so tired that for once the house is silent.

 

Lip wakes up once or twice during the night to the sound of Ian coughing, but he's too out of it to really register anything before he drifts back off to sleep.

 

The next morning Lip wakes to the sound of Fi banging on his headboard.

"School!" She calls as she heads down the hall to Debbie's room.

Lip groans and rolls out of the covers, wincing when the cold air hits his bare skin. He pulls on his jacket and gloves. Ian's still unmoving in bed and Lip throws a pillow at him. Ian groans loudly and sits up, glaring at Lip. His eyes have dark circles under them and his face is flushed. He opens his mouth to talk but a cough escapes instead.

Lip should say something. Tell Fiona it's getting worse. But honestly Ian being sick is the last thing any of them want to deal with at that moment.

"Jerk," Ian rasps out as he climbs out of bed and into his worn winter jacket. When they head downstairs, Fiona is already herding Debbie and Carl out the door.

"You're gonna be late," she warns them. They are shoved out the door with lunches is hand before Lip or Ian could even open their mouths. So they don't.

 

When Lip leaves the school to head to Roger's house again, Ian is nowhere to be found. He probably had business to deal with. Maybe he's heading to the Kash and Grab to find out about that job. It's not like they had set plans to meet, or anything. Lip isn't worried.

 

Vee and Fiona are cooking spaghetti when Lip enters the house this time and he thanks his lucky stars because he is really sick of mac and cheese. Debbie and Carl are sitting at the table doing homework (Carl is pulling Debbie's hair and Debbie is pinching him). Ian is nowhere in sight.

"Ian upstairs?" Lip asks Fiona.

Fiona is busy laughing at something Vee said but she nods so Lip heads up the stairs. Ian's in his bed, facing the wall, with his back to Lip. Lip goes to the bed and puts his hand on Ian's shoulder.

"Dude, you okay?" He inquires, shaking Ian a little.

Ian rolls over and blinks up at Lip with unfocused eyes, his face is pale, there's sweat visible across across his forehead, and he's shivering violently.

"Shit," Lip says.

Ian's only response to that is a wet cough. Lip brushes his hand over Ian's forehead and heat radiates from him. He pulls another blanket over his shivering brother and pats his arm.

"I'll be right back," he promises.

His feet slam against the wood of the stairs as he thunders down them. Everything in the kitchen is exactly how he left it.

"Fi," he says. "Ian's sick."

Fiona's attention turns toward him immediately, forgetting whatever story she was in the middle of telling Veronica.

"How sick?" She asks, already heading towards the stairs.Vee trails just behind her.

"I think it's pretty bad, he's coughing a lot and he's got a fever."

"I'll get the thermometer," Vee calls, turning towards the bathroom.

Fiona opens the bedroom door. Ian is shaking still, despite the extra blanket. Fiona kneels next to his bed and pushes his hair back.

"What hurts, Ian?" She asks.

"'m cold,"

Vee pushes her way into the room and next to Ian. She leans forward to take his temperature. Lip heard the thermometer beep and see's Veronica frown.

"This is bad, Fi. He needs the ER."

Lip isn't sure he heard that right.

"The hospital?" He asks, and he feels a little numb when Vee looks at him with pitying eyes.

"Fi," Ian croaks out. "I don't wanna go. Please."

Fiona rubs a soothing hand across Ian's hair. "It's okay, Ian." "

I'll get Kev to let us take him in the truck," Vee says.

She disappears down the stairs and Fiona turns towards Lip.

"We need to get him up," she says.

She loops an arm Ian's back and pushes him into a sitting position. Ian coughs and Fiona pats his back. Lip grabs Ian's jacket from the end of his bed and helps him slip into it. Ian is practically asleep on his feet and when Lip and Fiona wrap his arms around their shoulders to try and get him downstairs, he sags between them.

"Come on, Ian, just stand for a second. You'll feel better soon, I promise," Fiona urges Ian on as he struggles to find his feet.

"Dizzy," He murmurs.

They somehow manage to get Ian down the stairs. Carl and Debbie are silent at the table, looking over Ian with scared eyes. Vee is waiting at the door, and she takes Ian from him to help Fiona get him to the truck. He closes the door behind him and let's out a breath.

"Lip?" Debbie's voice is small and worried. He closes his eyes for a second before he turns toward her and Carl; puts on a smile for them.

"Is Ian gonna be okay?" She asks meekly.

"Yeah Debs. The doctors are gonna take care of him," he promises.

The anxiety does not fade from Debbie's face like it would have when she was younger. She's getting too old to just believe whatever they tell her now.

"I'm not stupid Lip, I'm ten now. I know doctors can't magically make everything better," Debbie announces.

"Ian is strong though, Debs. That's why he's gonna be fine," Lip reassures her.

The door pushed open again to reveal Veronica. She moves over the stove and turns off the forgotten food that had been cooking.

"Fi went with Kev and Ian in the truck. I told her I'd take you guys to the hospital. Debs, Carl, why don't you get Liam ready," Vee orders.

Carl and Debbie head to the living room to get Liam. Vee turns toward Lip when they are out of sight.

"Are you okay?" She asks. "You look pretty upset."

"I knew he was sick," Lip admits, looking down. "I knew and I didn't say anything."

Vee is silent for a moment, she places a hand on his shoulder.

"It was not your fault, Lip," she insists. "We all saw Ian wasn't exactly on his game this week."

Carl and Debbie come into the room with Liam and then Vee wraps her arms around his shoulders and they head out the door.

 

Vee and Kev take Debbie, Carl, and Liam to the waiting room without all the sick people and Lip waits with Fiona and Ian in the ER waiting room. Ian is leaning against Fiona. He's still shivering, his skin is pale, and his eyes are glazed over.

It's takes a while before nurse's come to whisk Ian into a bed. A doctor comes and says a lot of medical things Lip doesn't understand to the nurses before she turns towards them.

"You're brother's got bronchitis and what looks the beginnings of hypothermia. Was he out in the cold for a while?" She asks.

"Yeah," Fiona says, her eyes are brimming with tears and she sniffs a little. "Yeah he was."

They want Ian to stay the night in the hospital. Ian does not want to stay the night in the hospital.

"I'm fine, Fi." He says, but the effect is kind of ruined by the way he's still slurring a little. "I can't stay here. It'll cost too much."

"Don't worry about that, I'll figure it out," Fiona dismisses.

Ian pouts and that's when Lip is convinced that Ian's actually gonna be okay.

 

The next day he gets a book on furnaces from the library and Lip fixes the fucking heater himself.


End file.
